Apodyopis and Gymnophoria
by ayame88
Summary: The act of mentally undressing someone./The sensation that someone is mentally undressing you.


**Apodyopis/Gymnophoria**

_The act of mentally undressing someone./The sensation that someone is mentally undressing you._

Ashley Williams stepped out from engineering and sighed. She had gone back there looking for Shepard because she needed her to sign off on a few forms before she could send them off. If they were going to the Council, she could just use her own new found Spectre authority to sign off on them herself. Fortunately (or unfortunately, she wasn't quite sure yet) the forms were headed to the Alliance so she had to have the CO's signature.

The problem was, Shepard had been dodging her all day. If there was one thing Shepard hated more than politics it was paperwork. While the _Normandy _wasn't exactly massive (there were bigger vessels out there), it was plenty big enough for an N7 trained marine and former Team Delta member like Shepard to get lost in. Ashley's search for Shepard lead her to engineering where she was known to spend plenty of time with Chief Engineer Adams going over ideas about what upgrades the could make to the_ Normandy_. While none of the engineers had seen Shepard, they did succeed in dragging Ashley into helping them with some maintenence. She didn't understand any of the tech involved, but luckily (or unluckily, once again she couldn't tell) she didn't need to. It turns out they just needed an extra pair of hands to haul up some boxes from below deck. After 30 minutes of going up and down stairs hauling ridiculously heavy boxes back and forth, she was equal parts frustrated and tired. Ashley punched the button for the elevator and leaned against the window that overlooked the shuttle bay while she waited for it to descend.

"All this tech and the elevators are still slow as shit." She said, shaking her head. A small flash of movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She took a closer look out of the window and smiled as she finally caught sight of her prey. Shepard was in the shuttle bay sparring with James. Although, by the looks of it, it was less "sparring" and more Shepard handing James his ass on a silver platter. The huge smile on his face told Ashley that he was enjoying getting his ass kicked more than he should.

"Hmm. Still cute too." Ashley had met James back on Eden Prime, before everything went to hell and before she was assigned on the first _Normandy_. He wasn't as big back then and had a few less scars, but he was still _very _attractive. One thing that definitely hadn't changed was the flirting. He was as much a flirt then as he was now. The eight months they spent on Eden Prime were full of flirting, jokes, and sexual tension but they never crossed that line. It was very similar to how she passed the time with Shepard on the first Normandy. What neither of them would ever know is how many days and nights her mind was filled with images of one or both of them working up a sweat with her in some very_ interesting _ways.

Even now, watching them spar, her mind drifted to the dirtiest places. Sweat made both of their shirts cling to their bodies, leaving very little to the imagination. She imagined slowly peeling off those shirts and getting a look at the beautifully sculpted bodies underneath. She'd love to get a closer look at the ink that covered james neck and shoulder. Shepard used to have a massive and beautiful tattoo of a phoenix on her back on the SR-1. She told Ashley one night that she got it after the scars had healed from Akuze. It served the dual purpose of covering most of the scarring and reminding her how close she had come to death. Ashley wondered if, after "coming back," Shepard had gotten the tattoo re-done. It would be more fitting now than ever. Those pants would also have to go. Shepard was wearing a pair of loose basketball shorts while James was still in his BDU pants. If their asses look that damn good clothed, she could only imagine what they looked like bare. As Ashley raked her eyes back up the bodies of the two very attractive (and very still, why were they so still) bodies, she noticed two pairs of eyes staring at her with amusement and something else she couldn't quite identify. Shepard cocked an eyebrow and smirked up at her while James had a very knowing smile on his face.

"Well fuck," Ashley said, shaking her head and laughing. It looked like both of them had at least some idea of what she was doing. She was staring so hard it wouldn't surprise her if they could feel it through the glass. Either that or EDI probably said something about her staring out the window, smiling and drooling like an idiot. Ashley moved back over to the elevator and punched the button again. If she was lucky, she could catch Shepard before she disappeared again and neither her nor James would comment on the dopey smile or trail of drool. She seriously doubted she'd be _that _lucky.


End file.
